A series of biblical readings and prayers from David L. Miller, senior pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Naperville, IL. David is the former editor of The Lutheran magazine and Director of Spiritual Formation at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your
guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the
abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man
produced abundantly.And he
thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”Then he said, “I will do this: I will
pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain
and my goods.And I will say to
my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink,
be merry.”But God said to him,
“You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things
you have prepared, whose will they be?”So
it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards
God.’

Breathe the air

I just came from a time with men of the
congregation who eat and talk on Saturday mornings. Right now the topic is what
Martin Luther said, a treasure of faith and grace mixed with a bit of vitriol that
sooner or later moves us to take something to heart and carry it with us as we
go out the door.

I carry the prayer one member offered before we
left: thanks for the trust that allows everyone to ask questions and say what
they mean.

Our gathering table is free space engulfed in an
ocean of fresh, clean air. The men are who they are here, no airs or egos
competing for prominence, just guys talking.

Laughter is easy … and authentic. Who is more
successful as society counts it is irrelevant. You are more likely to hear guys
talking about their follies than their triumphs, an altogether humanizing experience
in an atmosphere of acceptance.

Conversation complete, we go to noisy families or
the ache of empty houses, to errands, chores or sporting events, carrying away
an idea or two, maybe, but mostly the joy of being together with no demands to
do or be or produce anything in particular.

The surprise is that doing and being nothing in
particular makes us … or at least me … more alive than when I walked in the
room. Why?

Perhaps it is the connection with others who come
together trying to know something of the mystery of God and the mystery of our
lives.

Perhaps it is the freedom of being human together … trying to live lives of faith and grace in the time and place in
which we find ourselves not by choice but chance and the will of God.

Whatever it is … being and feeling truly alive
is not about abundance of possessions or the accumulation of accomplishments.
It’s about life in community where the Love God is … is the air we breathe.

Friday, September 18, 2015

He sat down, called the twelve, and said to
them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking
it in his arms, he said to them,‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name
welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

Welcome the child

To welcome a child is to welcome the presence
Christ is within them and within oneself. For Christ is present in the need and desire
to love and be loved, to know connection that shatters the fears and feeling of
being separated, alone.

We are not made to be alone. We are each an image of the Great Love who is
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Circle in which gracious self-giving
flows eternally from one divine person to the next.

This is the self that lies deep within each of
us and certainly each child. It is closer to the surface in children for they
have manufactured fewer layers of ego to protect their tender hearts.

They have greater access to the reaches of the
inmost heart, receiving and loving naturally and freely. We who are older must
overcome anxieties about sharing the love we feel and receiving the love we
need.

In this giving and receiving we become what we
are, souls made in the image of the Great Love. We share in the Holy Circle of
Love God is, and it becomes larger in us and the world.

When we welcome a child we welcome the child
Christ is within us.

We invite the holy child to grow in us, to
become flesh in our flesh, to ring warm and true in our words and shine in our
eyes.

When we welcome the child the world has one
more face in whom the Face beyond all Faces shines … for all with eyes to see …
a most exquisite beauty.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in
the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’But they were silent, for on the way
they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.He sat down, called the twelve, and
said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of
all.’

Just be

Jesus’ words invite freedom and relief, and I
feel a bit of both when I imagine meeting whomever I will meet this day.

I can just be. There is no need to impress or
be smart … or be anything other than myself. It’s enough to give what I can, share
what I know and do the work that needs to be done.

A terrible task master is being laid to rest in
me: ego.

No longer is it so important to be better than others
or to be seen as someone more traveled or accomplished. I am what I am, and
whatever I am is to be shared with those given me in this life.

It is the ego-self that drives one to pretend,
to place a high value on how others see us and to strain to become more powerful
or important. Anxious ego needs to still the anxiety that we are not as
acceptable or good as those with whom we compare ourselves.

All such comparisons destroy our peace and keep
us from discovering and knowing ourselves, our depth and heart, our true beauty.

Just be, you seem to say. Just
be. Surrender the anxious desire to be first. Worry about nothing.

Another self, more beautiful than the one you
polish up for the world to see, lies within you. Share what you have and who
you are from the heart, and your heart will be full … of my heart … and peace.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in
the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one
another about who was the greatest.He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them,
‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’

Now I know

Choirs sang to me
yesterday, a church full of people, too. It was my birthday, and they blessed
me so richly tears flooded my eyes and gratitude my soul.

But I had already
received my birthday gift even before they sang.

I went through years
when Sunday worship brought little if any connection with God. The deep filling
of my heart came in the quiet places of my life where I would meditate and
listen in my soul for the Soul of the Universe.

And I heard you, Loving
Mystery. But the assembled gathering of people to worship, sing and pray seldom
penetrated my heart or opened my soul to the wonder you are.

Sometimes songs touched
me, and I felt connected. Music has always been a great gift and blessing for
me.

But most Sundays I was
content to retreat by myself to a place where I would read a few lines of
Scripture, meditate and be carried into awareness of the Holy Presence. Alone
with God, I knew an exquisite grace in which I fell silent … and knew a
Fullness of heart beyond words.

Such moments are still
come for me. But a change has occurred.

Sunday, breaking the
bread and distributing communion the flow of faces and open hands awakened
waves of great love and joy that required me to blink hard to hold back the
tears brought by the gracious beauty of this thing we do together.

We are bound in a Great
Love, joined in a Great Giving of life and You, Holy One, are this Great Love,
this Great Giving … this Great Beauty that so moves me.

Sharing the grace of
these moments there is nowhere in the world I would rather be than in this
sunlit room sharing the food of blessing with this people who blessed me,
one-by-one, with the privilege of breaking bread and serving them the grace
beyond all graces.

I still love my quiet
spaces, the moments when my heart is full and my fingers find these keys. But now
I know: Standing in the assembly, serving the Great Love we receive together,
there is nothing greater.